Miko Kings: An Indian Baseball Story

Book Description

"This is where the twentieth-century Indian really began . . . not in the abstractions of congressional acts, but on the prairie diamond."-Henri Day

Miko Kings is set in Indian Territory's queen city, Ada, Oklahoma, during the baseball fever of 1903 and simultaneously in 1969, the Vietnam era. The story centers on the lives of Hope Little Leader, a Choctaw pitcher for the Miko Kings baseball team; Lucius Mummy, a switch hitter; and Ezol Daggs, the postal clerk in Indian Territory. It is Daggs who, in attempting to patent her Choctaw theory of relativity, inadvertently changes the course of history for the Indians and their baseball team.

Though a lively and humorous contemporary work of fiction, the narration draws heavily on LeAnne Howe's careful historical research: boarding schools for Native American children, Native American participation in the Vietnam War, and-most centrally-the story of the little-known Indian Baseball League of the late 1800s and early 1900s.

LeAnne Howe, an enrolled member of the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma, is an author, playwright, and scholar. Born and educated in Oklahoma, she has read and lectured throughout the United States, Japan, and the Middle East. Her first novel, Shell Shaker, earned her a 2002 American Book Award and a Wordcraft Circle Writer of the Year in Creative Prose award. In 2004, Shell Shaker was published in French.

Howe is a recipient of a National Endowment for the Humanities award for research and a Smithsonian Native American internship for research. She has written and directed for theater, radio, and film. Her most recent film project as the narrator/host of Spiral of Fire aired on PBS in the fall of 2006. She is currently an associate professor at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

Customer Reviews:

Her books are always the best!.......2005-11-07

This book is great! but then all of her books are terrific. I own copies of all of her books -- romance, mystery, sci fi -- you name it. I even own the Eluki books. I would like to see more of Glory. But I also want more of the Bast books and more of the Twelve Treasures books.

If you like kick action heroines..........2003-06-30

Warslayer is an excellent book, especially if you are a Xena fan. It's a must read if you are looking for an exciting adventure. Check it out.

Good, funny, light twist on the Coming of Age premise.......2003-06-10

"The Warslayer" might as well be titled, "Glory McArdle comes of age." It's fast, funny, and tells a rousing story of mistaken identity, second chances, and for a woman who honestly believes in her own incompetence to find out she's wrong after all.

The story is as follows: Glory MacArdle is a former Olympic quality gymnast-turned-actress. She's a TV actress, sort of a Xena set in the Elizabethan era, and she's good at what she does. But she was picked more for her gymnastic ability than for her acting, and she wonders why people are making such a big deal of her, right before the Allimir mistake _her_ for her character. Once taken from her familiar surroundings, Glory has a choice; she can go back home, and doom the Allimir to lingering death, or she can fight, even though she's not really competent. (The Allimir have no other options; it's her or no one at all.) It's a fairly standard "mistaken identity" ploy, but Ms. Edghill renders it much better than average because of the witty dialogue, strong characterization, pop culture references, and Glory's search for meaning.

One other reviewer said he found none of that. Funny, I remember a dream sequence where Glory was facing her idealized self -- and the idealized self told her she was doing fine, and on the right road. And I remember a whole lot of other stuff, where Glory tells the remaining Allimir about how she's not really competent to fight -- but then, realizing how incompetent the rest of them are, chooses to stay and fight _for_ them. That shows strength of character; she could have just gone home.

Another reviewer was rather upset that Ms. Edghill had written this book, rather than another "Sword of Maiden's Tears" novel. Considering how well this novel was written, I don't understand that. This is not filler; it _is_ light, but it's not total fluff, and it does have a moral. The bad guys lose, and the good guys win, despite the heroine's lack of belief in herself. What's wrong with that?

I think it's a triumph, mostly because it _is_ a departure. And although this book could have been straight satire, and I'd have enjoyed it immensely due to Ms. Edghill's writing skills, I'm glad she didn't choose to do that. Instead, she went for a real plot, with real, identifiable goals, and managed to get me to empathize with a young, thin, glamorous woman (when I'm anything but these things) because of Glory's search for inner meaning as well as her place in the world.

Because Glory tries so hard to help the Allimir, even though she knows she's not competent, and because the plot is so well-executed by Ms. Edghill, I'd give this book at least four stars. I'd give it four and a half, if there was a way to do that, because it is very deftly done, and more to the point, it shows how someone _can_ rise to the occasion -- with just the right impetus.

As for the sequel possibilities, it might be nice to see; if "Xena: Warrior Princess" can spin off all sorts of stuff, why can't Rosemary Edghill?

And the episode guide at the end was a very nice addition, too. Gave me some extra chuckles, and that's always welcome.

Standard plot - well executed.......2002-11-07

This is another "average joe transported to a mystical realm and saves the world" book. An old plot, but still enjoyable. Some interesting twists for people who are into science-fiction and/or fantasy conventions.

This book is a quick read. I bought it at dinner time and was finished that night. It was a pleasant evening's escape.

Nice idea but doesn't cut it.......2002-08-21

I'll give this an extra star for a great concept - but that only brings it up to 3 stars because I didn't like the presentation.

It's standard, almost to the point of cliche, to comment in a fiction book how a fiction book would gloss over all those little realistic details that have to happen in everyday life. This book didn't skip over them and that's what I don't think I liked. It was too realistic. I don't want realistic in my fiction, I want dramatic, astounding and amazing. I want to escape reality for a little while, not wallow in it.

I just didn't get drawn in and immersed. I somehow remained outside looking in, knowing I was outside.

You have to admire the attention to detail of someone who creates an actual episode guide (includign some with bad reviews) for a show that only exists in a fictional book. But that doesn't mean you necessarily want to read said episode guide. Somehow I think Buffy's ratings are secure if this is the competition.

Average customer rating:
Warslayer
Rosemary Edghill
Manufacturer: POCKET BOOKS @
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000SF3UQ8

Average customer rating:
The Warslayer
Rosemary EDGHILL
Manufacturer: Baen Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
ASIN: B000OPAJXE

Average customer rating:
Warslayer
Rosemary Edghill
Manufacturer: BAEN BOOKS @ SIMON & SCHUSTER
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000UCYSEC

Customer Reviews:

Lush with a tech edge.......2007-09-25

Gideon's Fall: When You Dont Have a Prayer, Only a Miracle Will Do In tone it reminded me of tower of glass. A more tech feel to it than most silverberg's but still had the lushness that is silverberg's hallmark. Think of that...

Not Silverberg's best, but not bad.......2006-01-12

This book has the writing style of the author going for it, which is always a plus, but this is not Silverberg's best work. The central characters are fairly well developed, and the scenario of a "greenhoused" earth is convincingly depicted, but the story itself is rather episodic and ultimately has no really profound point to make. A good, but not great read.

Something wasn't quite right.......2003-04-22

Something about this book just didn't click for me. Hot Sky at Midnight takes place in the not-so-distant future, when humans have ruined the ecology to such an extent that they will die out unless genetically modified. The modifications needed to save the race would be so extreme that the survivors might not even be human anymore.

With this as a backdrop, we meet Nick Rhodes, a brilliant but naive geneticist struggling with the ethics of his work. We also meet Paul Carpenter, a very junior exec who is trying to move up in the corporate world. Mr. Silverberg does a very good job at the beginning of introducing these characters and the decisions they struggle with. However, about halfway through the book, he has the characters do things "out of character." Paul, supposedly a moral anchor who does the right thing out of instinct, makes an incredibly stupid and callous decision which kills people. Nick, an indecisive incipient alcoholic, is able to make up his own mind to remove a monopoly on genetic technology.

It seemed that halfway through the book, Mr. Silverberg needed to find a way to finish it. He did so, but not in a satisfying way.

NO DREAMSýNO DISILLUSIONMENTS.......2002-06-19

A bit of skyward soap opera here complete with love and lust. The Author presents cast of characters all submerged in the dystopian world of lust within environmentally ruined cities. Global warming has flooded the seacoasts, nearly destroyed Japan and turned the good old days on its head. To finalize this headlong dive into dystopia many of the characters are blown up in an ill fated plot to conquer a space station, get rich quick and live happily ever after.

There were a few flaws in this story where irrelevant questions were given high priority. For example, one big question posed was whether company S or company K would make the adapto metabolic breakthroughs, thus allowing for a new species of man who could breath methane rather than oxygen. Such a successful process would allow either company to one day control the world. This reader didn't see what difference it would make who the winner was.

The stories most novel idea was that faster than light space travel will render ordinary human sight useless, requiring man to develop trick vision in order to pilot space ships to new worlds. Even the brilliant character, Farcas, who develops a new kind of sightless vision, must be sacrificed to the plot's need to end the story. Another main character is led through a series of failures so mind shattering that he volunteers for the flight to outer space with no other hope but to erase the memory of his life on planet earth. With no dreams there will be no further disillusionment.

Ecological mistakes lead to a world of difficult choices.......2001-10-01

In a not too distant future the ecological mistakes of the 20th Century will have led to disaster. The melting of the polar ice cap will have flooded low-lying cities and initiated a cycle of climatic changes that mankind's technology will be unable to break. As a result, most of the U.S. will be covered by desert, pollution will make the air almost unbreathable, and ozone depletion will make even the sun dangerous. These are simple facts of everyday life in this compelling novel of intrigue by sci-fi master Robert Silverberg.

Amidst numerous twists and turns, the story focuses on a plot to overthrow the ruling government of the artificial satellite world called Valparaiso Nuevo. A shadowy figure known as the Generalissimo runs this environmental paradise as a safe haven for any who can pay for its protection. But no one can foresee the catastrophic effects of the actions of a tiny group of men who plan to oust the Generalissimo for their own selfish purposes.

Paul Carpenter is the most sympathetic of these characters, a salaryman who takes a position as a sea captain in his eternal quest for promotion in the Japanese megacorporation that controls half the world's business and industry. His fortunes decline dramatically after a mutiny on the high seas leaves him unemployable. His childhood friend, Nick Rhodes, a brilliant geneticist who is collapsing under the weight of his own ethical dilemma, introduces him to an acquaintance of his driven, opinionated girlfriend Isabelle, the seductive Jolanda. A talented sculptor and even more talented lover, Jolanda is the lynch pin of a plot that includes Enron, an Israeli spy, and Farkus, a genetically altered agent of a rival corporation. Together, their greed, suspicion, ambition, stupidity, and insatiable lust lead to a dramatic conclusion that stands as a brilliant metaphor for the destruction man has wreaked upon his own planet.

This novel features powerful, realistic characters, crushing descriptions of a ravaged earth, and a series of intense situations. Silverberg warns us that our present day course will shortly lead us to a time and place where tough decisions will routinely have to made, and their often tragic consequences accepted, simply because no better alternatives are available. The science is carefuly thought out, but includes plenty of radical surprises as well. This is a fine selection for all fans of science fiction, and a must for those who are interested in how incremental ecological changes can have enormous effects on our future.

Average customer rating:

First impression of Southern Cooking

Great recipes for "old favorites"

A review from a True Southerner

Back in grandma's kitchen

Too Yummy to pass up!!

The Blue Willow Inn Cookbook: Discover Why the Best Small-Town Restaurant in the South is in Social Circle, Georgia
Jane Stern , and Michael Stern
Manufacturer: Thomas Nelson
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Baking | Cooking, Food & Wine | Subjects | Books
General | Cooking, Food & Wine | Subjects | Books
South | U.S. Regional | Regional & International | Cooking, Food & Wine | Subjects | Books
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The Blue Willow Inn Bible of Southern Cooking: More than 600 Essential Recipes Southerners have Enjoyed for Generations

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ASIN: 1558539913

Book Description

A Roadfood™ Cookbook

For five years in a row, The Blue Willow Inn in Social Circle, Georgia, 40 minutes east of Atlanta, has been voted best small town restaurant in the South by the readers of Southern Living magazine. Billie and Louis Van Dyke say that no one is allowed to leave hungry, and certainly no one should after feasting on a variety of Southern salads, meats, vegetables, breads and desserts and, of course, sweet tea, the "Champagne of the South," and lemonade. Housed in a gloriously restored southern mansion, The Blue Willow Inn is home to Southern hospitality and charm at its best.

The Blue Willow Inn Cookbook offers delicious Southern recipes, vintage pictures from the early days of Social Circle, and fascinating anecdotes about the restaurant. It's a book that's wonderful for reading or for cooking.

The greatest restaurants in America are its wonderful independent regional restaurants. And there are no greater experts on America's regional restaurants than Michael and Jane Stern. "Coast to coast," said the New York Times, "they know where to find the freshest lobster rolls, the fluffiest pancakes, the crispiest catfish." Rutledge Hill Press is launching a new series of Roadfood™ Cookbooks, each with recipes, pictures, and the history of one of America's greatest regional restaurants.

Customer Reviews:

First impression of Southern Cooking.......2007-10-01

An old roommate of mine was born in the South and she used this cookbook a lot. She made fried okra, black eyed peas and I thought both items were very successful and tasted yummy. This book was my first impression of Southern Cooking, so therefore I don't know how it compares with other southern cooking. It is all I believed it would be: lots of meat, lots of fat and lots of mayonnaise. Though I think I will avoid most of the mayo salads, I will be attempting to make some of the more traditional southern recipes at some point.

For those of us who have never tasted authentic southern food before, I think this book does a good job of presenting the basics. The other comments that this book has many "recipes every Southerner should know" makes me believe that it is a fantastic book for those of us who have no idea of what that includes.

This book is definately not for the fat concious chef and it doesn't adapt well to "low-fat" substitutions.

Great recipes for "old favorites".......2007-05-31

This is the best cookbook. My mother does not have recipes written down for potato salad or meatloaf, etc. She just adds a little of this and that. Well I needed a cookbook for these favorite southern dishes. It has become the most used cookbook in my kitchen. I love it!

A review from a True Southerner.......2006-12-20

I just received this book and am giving it to my mother-in-law as a Christmas present. After flipping through it, and reading quite a few excerpts out loud to my husband, I just wanted to give my impression of the recipes.

I was quite impressed with the 'true southern flavor' of this book. Having been raised in eastern NC, I have been eating "Southern Cuisine" all my life, and am quite frankly fed up with all the "southern" cookbooks that I see on the shelves. They all seem to put weird ingredients in the dishes just to make them photograph better, or to appeal to the mass markets. This cookbook tells it like it is -- no low-fat, vegetarian dishes. All the veggies have fat-back in them, and most have butter and cheese added. Most of the congealed salads have graced my family's table over the years.

For the reviewers that have critized this as a full-fat, Cheese-Whiz, Cream of XXX soup, cookbook -- I say yes, you are correct. But these recipes are time-tested, good, basic recipes to feed your family on.

If you are looking for good authentic Southern recipes for your table, this is a great place to start. The recipes are simple, but not boring, and the instructions are very clear.

As a side note, the stories are a great read too!

Back in grandma's kitchen.......2006-11-14

I grew up less than an hour from Social Circle. All of these recipes took me back home, back to my grandma's kitchen. I have tried several of the recipes and they tasted just like my grandma's. The history and stories included in the book made you feel like you were there. I will definitely visit The Blue Willow Inn the next time I am back in Georgia.

Too Yummy to pass up!!.......2006-01-09

My mom gave me this book for Christmas. I have tried numerous recipes. We have loved them all! I cooked for numerous family and friends during the holidays. They all raved and wanted the recipes. Some of them are so simple and they surprise you how incredibly good they are. It doesnt have to be hard.

Product Description

124 pages, paperback, 6 1/4" x 9 1/4". Geared specifically for people short on time but long on intention. Down-to-earth style and practical advice illustrates how to teach your dog just about anything in only 10 minutes at a time.

Customer Reviews:

Some Good Advice, with an Unfortunate Streak of Meanness.......2007-03-04

I like Carol Lea Benjamin. Back in the 1980s, when I first became interested in dog training, and the alpha theory still held sway, she was the least brutal of the popular dominance mavens of the time. (i.e., "How hard should you hit your dog? If she doesn't yelp in pain, you haven't hit her hard enough." -The Monks of New Skete.) Since those days Benjamin has become a mystery novelist, and I really liked her first foray into detective fiction. (See my review of THIS DOG FOR HIRE.) I also share some of her antipathy for the methods espoused by so-called positive trainers. As a result I'm hesitant to write a negative review of this book.

So I'll start by saying there are good bits or advice sprinkled here and there, like not giving a pup more freedom than he can handle, or that more vigorous daily exercise means less nervous tension. Or the idea that aggression is usually the result of excess tension (which is partially true; it's based on fear). And I have to tell you that many of Benjamin's training exercises are very, very good ones. But unfortunately, readers are told repeatedly that it all comes down to showing the dog that you're alpha. How do you deal with an aggressive dog? "You must become alpha." Over and over she says this kind of thing. But given the recent evidence showing that wild wolves don't really form dominance hierarchies, that the pack is actually more of a cooperative society than was previously believed, it's hard to know how and why Carol Lea Benjamin would still be hanging onto this ridiculous, bone-dead belief. As a result of her alpha mindset there's a streak of meanness throughout this and, come to think of it, throughout all her training books. Granted, she's not as brutal as the Monks or Bash Dibra or Cesar Millan, but one passage in DOG TRAINING IN 10 MINUTES really points out a major character flaw.

Benjamin says that it's all right to really yell your head off at the dog for certain types of what she believes to be "deliberate" misbehavior (dogs don't do anything deliberately, Ms. Benjamin; they act on instinct and impulse, not careful planning). To deal with such behaviors she recommends grabbing the dog by the cheeks and collar and screaming in his face for a minimum of ten seconds. "In those ten seconds," she writes, "your justifiable anger is pointing right at your dog, and because you are holding his rotten face, he can't turn away."

His rotten face? This is not dog training, it's venting. And, as I try to gently tell my clients, "If you can't control your OWN emotions, how can you expect your dog to control HIS?"

As stated above, there are a couple of sections where Benjamin decries the "modern" approach of not saying "No!", which she views as coddling the dog due to some kind of political correctness. I agree that "positive" methods are misguided and not as scientific as most +R trainers constantly claim they are. On the other hand, I've been dissuading my clients from using the word "No!" for nearly fifteen years, long before it was politically correct to do so, simply because dogs can't learn a negative, and because it sets up an adversarial relationship between you and your best friend. And I TOTALLY disagree with Benjamin's method of using leash corrections, which she says should always be followed by a sharp "No!" The truth is, leash corrections work best if they're immediately followed by praise, or a command, given in a positive tone of voice. The way Benjamin applies them results in a double punishment, and one that actually punishes GOOD behavior!

Here's what I mean: if a dog isn't focused on you, or he ignores a command, and you give him a leash correction (which should always be done with the absolute minimum of force necessary to get his attention, by the way), he'll usually stop what he was doing and focus on you, if only for a second. So he's just done a good thing, right? Okay, so then why in the world would you shout "No!" at him? It makes no sense.

And finally, here's where Benjamin's mean streak lets her down; here's where her love of punishment and being alpha gets in the way of true control: "When you want your dog to come to you from a distance, you want to project that you are friendly." Yes, that's absolutely true. That's excellent advice. But in Benjamin's world what that means is that you want your dog to suddenly forget that you're in the habit of saying "No!", punishing him for good behavior, and screaming in his "rotten face" when you can't control your own emotions.

Ms. Benjamin, THIS is why you don't use "No!", this is why you don't punish a dog, this is why "being alpha" is a bad idea. Not because it's politically incorrect, but because it's just bad dog training.

4 stars for some training techniques, 0 stars for meanness = 2 stars.

Fun book.......2004-09-29

If you can only buy one book on dog training, buy this one. It's easy to read and fun to read. After you read this book perhaps you'll also want to read her other book "Monther Knows Best," which is also fun and informative.

No biscuit.......2002-03-23

Although the book is well-written and entertaining to read I really didn't find that it taught me anything new. It *was* helpful in reminding me some of the fundamentals about dog training, and really kicked me in the [head] to *constantly* positively reinforce, no matter how unimpressive a command the dog is following, but overall, I don't think any major revelations were achieved. Some interesting thoughts, and probably worth the money if you're a brand new dog owner with no prior experience with them, but I doubt someone with past dog experience would get as much out of it.

Easy to Read, Easy to Understand, Easy to Follow.......1999-05-04

Carol Lea Benjamin's dog books are for the average person who wants a well behaved house pet. Nothing fancy, just straight and to the point. Her training methods are easy to apply and neither the dog or it's master are confused about the expected outcomes. I liked it enough, that I am buying another book by the same author. BT

Author's method gets fast results.......1998-12-05

My dog, Rascal, is, indeed, a rascal. First impressions can be deceiving, and Rascal deceived me. At the shelter, he calmly gazed at me with the biggest, brownest set of puppy eyes. He looked so sad, and I'm a sucker for the underdog, people or animals. No one wanted him. Week after week, the shelter brought him back again. No one was interested in this calm little white and brown terrier. So I brought him home to love him and live happily ever after.

The first day I let him out alone into my fenced in back yard, he jumped the fence, and bounded down the street in a raging snow storm. I found him. I was also late for work. He also decided that carpeted basements were a good place to relieve himself. That is when I went out and got Ms. Benjamin's book. I don't want to train dogs. I want them to behave. I want to train the dog now and I want it to take.

My Rascal no longer jumps fences. Ms. Benjamin taught me to give Rascal praise when he comes in the house when I call. He loves being praised for coming in so much that he doesn't think about going out and exploring any more. The author also taught me to hold his head in my hands for one minute and tell him what I think of his relieving himself on my carpet. Then I let him think about it for a half hour alone in my kitchen. He thinks twice now about misbehaving.

We also learned some fun things. I cannot get him to howl as the author suggests (he rarely even barks). But he will sneeze on command, and I've only had the book for a couple of weeks. I am teaching him to scour the house for treats I have hidden so I can get busy doing other things. A busy dog is a happy dog.

For anyone who wants to train a dog easily and fast, using a method that is practical and down to earth, I highly recommend this book.

Average customer rating:

good to average training book

10 Minute Retriever

In response to B. Blazer's Spotlight Review...

AMAZING TRAINING BOOK!!!!

10-minute retriever

The 10-Minute Retriever: How to Make an Obedient and Enthusiastic Gun Dog in 10 Minutes a Day
John I. Dahl , and Amy Dahl
Manufacturer: Willow Creek Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Breeds | Dogs | Animal Care & Pets | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books
General | Dogs | Animal Care & Pets | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books
Training | Dogs | Animal Care & Pets | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books
General | Animal Care & Pets | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books
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The Working Retrievers: The Classic Book for the Training, Care, and Handling of Retrievers for Hunting and Field Trials

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The Pointing Labrador

ASIN: 1572233036

Book Description

The 10-Minute Retriever reflects the authors' belief that daily ten-minute training sessions best suit a retriever's attention span and lead to rapid learning. This book is easy to use for the absolute beginner and yet deeply informative for the serious student of retriever training. The text has the information most needed by the owner of a pet retriever: how to make it reliable obedient and well-mannered. It also has the information for which amateur retriever trainers are clamoring: how to force fetch, how to set up tests in the field, and how to use an electric collar humanely and effectively. The emphasis of their training method is on obtaining necessary control and good manners while maximizing the dog's enthusiasm for its work by establishing training situations where the dog desires to cooperate. Primary importance is placed on developing and enhancing the desire to retrieve, from early puppyhood onward. The method presented provides a solid foundation to the dog and owner continuing to advance retrieve training (blind retrieves and competition). Concepts and methods are illustrated with true dog stories. Difference between the major breeds are described and adaptations are given for the different breed personalities.

Customer Reviews:

good to average training book.......2007-08-21

this is prolly the 3rd best book ive read on hunting dog training, quick and easy, give it a try

10 Minute Retriever.......2007-08-06

I was pleased with the book until I realized that one chapter was missing. I ordered a second one and had the same problem. I also had to take the time to return the first one and kept the second one, which is still missing a chapter. Perhaps your books should be scanned after printing to avoid misprints being mailed out.

In response to B. Blazer's Spotlight Review..........2007-05-15

How B. Blazer's review was determined to be Spotlight material baffles me. His review makes it patently obvious that he knows precisely nothing about training dogs, has never spent time with professional trainers and has never run a dog in a field trial or hunt test.

Force fetch is an essential part of training retrievers. It is the foundation upon which advanced training is based and all competitive retrievers undergo force fetch training. Yes, you create stress in the dog through the ear pinch or toe hitch because competing and hunting yield stressful situations for the dog as he works through terrain, challenging wind conditions, cold and dozens of other factors that come into play during a retrieve. A dog not trained to handle that stress will exhibit major performance issues when the going gets tough, from popping, ignoring handling or, worse, a total no-go.

To address B. Blazer's little numbered list:

1.) At no point do the authors of Ten Minute Retriever call for the use of a whip. The tool is called a heeling stick. It is never suggested that the heeling stick be used to abuse the dog. It is merely a way to extend your reach to deliver taps and swats for immediate correction of issues like breaking.

2.) At no point do the authors suggest "tying the dog's mouth shut around a dummy". For a dog who chronically spits the dummy during hold training, the authors suggest that a lead may be looped about the dogs muzzle while you reinforce the hold command verbally.

3.) I just explained ear pinch, which is one of the most common practices in retriever training, only slightly less common than...

4.) ... the electronic collar. B. Blazer seems to take exception with the verb "burn" but then goes on to claim that he is not against the "proper" use of the e-collar. The ONLY purpose of the electronic collar is to deliver an electric shock or burn unless Tri-Tronics has a new Rainbows and Unicorn Ponies model I am unaware of.

B. Blazer's conclusion that the training methods outlines in this book serve only to break a dog's spirit is one of the most pathetically laughable statements I have ever seen in an Amazon review. This books methods are straightforward, basic retriever training of the type one can find from top trainers like Danny Farmer or Mike Lardy. There is a logical progression from puppy yard drills and basic obedience through refinement of line manners, multiple marks and basic handling. The information in here will yield a solid field dog or provide a foundation for Derby work in field trials.

Like any training program, steady progression, intense repetition and, most importantly, PATIENCE are what is required. If it were impossible, as B. Blazer foolishly suggests, to both instill desire and passion for retrieving in a dog while also applying direct and indirect pressure during training, every competitive retriever in the world would be an empty husk of a dog - an assertion so baseless and without merit as to be laughable.

AMAZING TRAINING BOOK!!!!.......2007-03-13

I highly recommend this book as it breaks the training down to what is most successfully. 10 minutes a day is one of the best ways to train a dog, especially for retrieving. I enjoyed how this book was broken up with true stories about the authors experience with their own dogs and it brought a lot of life into the reading of this book. The photos and diagrams were very helpful as well. I have thoroughly enjoyed reading this book and I would recommend it to anyone working on training any type of dog for retrieving.

10-minute retriever.......2006-11-10

This is a very helpful book. It really works on our lab pup!

Book Description

An illustrated discussion of the architects and the buildings they designed, revealing Moscow Art Nouveau in all its diversity.

Customer Reviews:

Two-hour Quilted Christmas Projects by Cheri Saffiote.......2002-06-08

I was very pleased to receive this book. The condition of this book was excellant. I was also very impressed at how fast I received the book. I had it in less than two weeks.
The projects in this book have very easy to follow instructions and I'm sure I will have hours of fun making the different projects.

This is a light-hearted book of simple quilting projects........1999-09-17

Some quilting books are a disappointment and don't deliver the content you expect from the cover, but "Two-Hour Quilted Christmas Projects" is terrific. The items are easy and refreshing. The patterns and directions are complete. This book delivers more than I expected. Although the hardcover price was hard to accept I think I will get my money's worth because I will actually make several of the projects in the book.

The best stitchery book ever..........1998-11-27

This book has terrific directions..excellent pictures. So many projects to choose from. I would recommend this book to anyone who likes to do hand quilting . these projects were so much fun and gave me a great sense of accomplishment.

Book Description

This profusely illustrated and comprehensive examination of Formica surveys all aspects of the brand's artistic and cultural influence. Soon after its invention, Formica laminate was used as a decorative material, adorning such interiors as those of the Queen Mary and Radio City Music Hall, among others. Formica's easy-to-clean features and its chameleon-like capacity to adopt to any pattern and color soon made it a ubiquitous surface material for kitchens and bathrooms across America. More importantly, Formica laminate has changed with the tastes of the times from the modern style in the 1930s to the postmodern style of the 1980s. Individual chapters and essays explore Formica's many applications—in diners, hotels, homes, furniture, and jewelry.

Customer Reviews:

Everything you ever wanted to know about it........2001-11-18

This is a book about about a product that we all take for granted but the history of Formica and its uses is quite fascinating. Author Lewin was the Creative Director of Formica from 1982 so don't expect to read anything untoward about the company, the twelve other contributors tell the story from their perspective, I particularly liked Jeffrey Meikle's essay on 'Plastics' and Susan Bayliss on 'Formica in Women's Lives'.

So this book will tell you all you need to know about the history of the product, in text and photos, plenty of them and this is where the book comes to a full stop.

The design is just infuriating! Only the right-hand pages have numbers, captions are all given a chapter and photo number, this is repeated near or on the relevant photo, now for the crazy bit, every photo has a bit cut out of it, it could be a triangular shape or a curve or maybe a bit of one photo on the same spread cut out and placed on another photo. This is just visual nonsense and I am surprised that a quality publisher like Rizzoli allowed this appalling design to go all the way through the editorial process and not get picked up.

A pity because it is an interesting book ruined by the work of some trendy designer who should go back to design school.

Average customer rating:
FORMICA and DESIGN: FROM THE COUNTERY TOP TO HIGH ART
Susan Grant Lewin
Manufacturer: Rizzoli
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000HX08DE

Book Description

In 1935, popular culture was transformed forever when DC published its first book of all-new, all-original comic material. To the delight of millions of kids everywhere, the modern comic book was born.

With the introduction of Superman in 1938. DC Comics made history again, this time with the publication of the first super hero comic book. To this day, the Man of Steel remains the most recognized and celebrated hero in the world. Inspired by its innovative early success, DC went on to create legions of other superheores--Batman, Wonder Woman, the Flash, Green Lantern, and dozens more of the most popular comic book characters ever created.

In the sixty years since the first super heroes were created, the artists, writers, and editors of DC Comics have been developing, refining and extending the reach of their comic book characters. The DC fictional world has branched into a worldwide profusion of entertainment formats: books, toys, movies, radio, television, video games, and an online computer network.

Here, for the very first time, is the complete story of America's favorite heroes and their talented, dedicated creators. In over 100 short and spirited essays, author Les Daniels offers remarkable new anecdotes about the company's history, traces the complex genealogies of the characters, describes behind-the-scenes politics that influence the stories, and interviews dozens of artists and writers--the real stars of his engrossing tales. The reader can open the book anywhere and become immersed immediately in the fantasy world of high adventure and magical mayhem.

Customer Reviews:

Graphic SF Reader.......2007-09-03

A very good history, covering all the major characters up to when it was published, as well as the various tv and movie ventures. It even throws in a few merchandising samples, that may well be of interest to the hardcore collector type.

A definite must have reference material for the DC fan with an historical interest.

DC A to Z.......2006-02-26

Necessity for any DC fan. It is dated (1995) but it still have the major characters that made DC great.

coffee table book, more like Superman, Batman, and friends.......2002-06-12

Unlike Peter Sanderson's Marvel Universe, which is also an oversized coffee table book, Les Daniels doesn't try to create an overview of the DC Universe or dwell on the growth of the major characters. Well, he does, but only for Superman and Batman for the most part. Not that other DC Comics don't rate a mention; even Bob Hope and Jerry Lewis get a bit. The problem with the book, which isn't bad by any means, is that it is broken into two-page sections, with no topic allowed to go beyond that. Therefore, there are copious two-page spreads about Superman and Batman, and other characters are likely to get one. One of those two gets a spread every five or so.

I grew up a Marvel zombie, but because of Daniels's choices, I learned more about the Marvel Universe from Sanderson than I learned from Daniels about the DC Universe, and I expected it to be the other way around. This is not to say Daniels doesn't have valuable information. His material about the founding of DC and much of the Golden Age material is going to be largely new for younger DC readers, who grew up with Action #1 as the most valuable comicbook of all time. I doubt too many people knew about the Golden Age Red Tornado, a hefty homemaker turned superhero who was something like a female predecessor to Marvel's Forbush Man, or certainly dressed that way, and played for comedy. Oddly, aside from showing a two-page spread depicting the Super Powers action figures of the eighties, the better known Silver Age Red Tornado is never mentioned. While Red Tornado is a second-stringer, he's hardly a minor figure in the DC Universe. There is comparatively little on Vertigo, despite its significance, and it perhaps goes into excess on film versions of the DC characters (the only place Congo Bill is mentioned, despite his recent Vertigo treatment). Other characters rating only a few paragraphs or even a mere sentence include Green Arrow, Mister Miracle, Shade the Changing Man, Animal Man, The Spectre, Deadman, The Demon, The Phantom Stranger, The Creeper, Firestorm, even Aquman! Very little about Brainiac; nothing on The Scarecrow or Mr. Freeze, either. Too little on The Flash and Hawkman. Oddly, even though it notes the Super Powers action figures were designed by Jack Kirby, it doesn't mention whther the Super Powers comicbook series he was deeply involved in in the 1980s was really a toy tie-in or really had to do with the Fourth World (though the two page spread on it said it was never completed, it still made no mention of Super Powers other than the action figures).

Perhaps because DC had to restructure its continuity so many times and say certain stories never happened, or were at least part of an eradicated timeline (they happened, but the world itself was revised through a crossover paradox, negating that they happend) that Daniels took this treatment. Perhaps he was trying to be more commericial. But two page spreads on Superman food products, Batman food products, ephemera for each, is a little excessive considering what was chosen to be left out, even if these two ARE more commercial.

At this time, I don't know that there is a better alternative to this book regarding the DC Universe. None of what is here is bad, but some of the choices leave a lot to be desired. Great coffee table book for the DC fan, but one is unlikely to learn much about the characters of the past 30-40 years that isn't going to be well known to them.

Aliens, Amazons and Dark Knight Detectives.......2002-05-31

"DC Comics : Sixty Years of the World's Favorite Comic Book Heroes" is a nice tribute to the company that has given us some of our most recognizable and long lasting fiction characters. Superman, Batman and Wonderwoman are as much a part of Americana as Mickey Mouse, Coca-Cola and Moby Dick. A blend of art and cheap entertainment, the comic book has evolved throughout the decades, as have the heroes within.

The history of this company is laid out from the beginnings of the comic book, to the debut of the long-running Action Comics (Superman) and Detective Comics (Batman). Each of the company's successive stages is detailed, the Golden Age, the Silver Age, the Bronze Age, and the Modern Age. Familiar rivals, such as Plastic Man, Captain Marvel and the Charleston and Quality heros are shown. Frank Miller and Alan Moore are given their just due. Superheroes in film and on television are shown.

The pages contain great photographs and reprints of classic comic culture. It is nice to see the classic covers of the years in high quality reproductions. A cavalcade of toys, badges, trinkets and other tie-ins are displayed.

All in all, this is a great book for DC comics fans.

A Great Tribute for a Major Contributor to Pop Culture.......2001-08-07

The modern comic book came to life with "Superman." Since the "man of steel" burst on the scene more than 60 years ago, there has been an onslaught of underwear-clad superheroes, many of the more legendary ones under the DC banner. All of the company's major titles and their respective print and filmed versions are featured here, from the "Batman" serials of the 40's to the update 90's television series "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman." For anyone with a passing interest in comics as an entertainment and art form, this is a lavishly illustrated and comprehensive work. In sequential order, we get the full history of DC from its humble beginnings to its status as one of the premier companies in its field. Marvel may have overtaken it in the 60's with its more "adult" characters, DC still reigns as the originator of the comic book and the book supremely showcases that status.

Customer Reviews:

The Blues.......2003-01-08

I approached this book hoping that it would educate me and be an interesting read. I have already seen the movie about her life and read Lady Sings The Blues, so I was hoping for a more in depth look at the lady. To be truthful, this book is not up to that challenge and throws little new light upon her life.

Bore me to Death.......2002-04-11

I read "Lady Sings the Blues" and loved it, but once I found out that it was ghost written, I decided to find a farely accurate bio of the great Lady Day. This had the best reviews on Amazon.com, so I borrowed it from the library. Lucky for me. This book was long winded, dry, and boring. It read like a thesis paper. The quotes and anecdotes were misplaced and some had nothing to do with the passage it was featured in. Some of the stories were like listening to your Grandfather tell some gawd-aweful long story that doesn't have a single narrative. I think Clarke couldn't decide if he was writing about the times or Billy Holiday. Granted he mentioned everything under the sun to give the reader as sense of the times and culture, but there was little devoted to Billy per se. Great research, but it needed a better editor. My search continues...

Entertaining and Educational!.......1999-07-14

"Wishing on the Moon" by Donald Clarke, is an incredibly remarkable book. I was totally in awe how a man can capture every little detail of Billie Holiday's life, as well as those who were around her...those that new her the best and AT her best. He tells the truth in all of it's entirety. The information gathered to produce this book is very well written, for it gives the reader a set time that a certain event has taken place. He(the author) goes into a summary of each period to give the reader background information about people that played a part in her life. This form of writing helps the reader not only learn of the life and times of this great performer, but also helps the reader imagine what is going in her (Billie Holiday's) lifetime as you read. It's like a great movie fit into a little book!

Well researched biography, w/ anecdotes that steal the show.......1998-12-29

Using interviews with friends/acquaintances and Holiday herself, Clarke has put to paper a methodically-researched and equally smartly distilled portrait of Holiday's life. The anecdotes, relayed in the tellers own speak, steal the show, giving true insight into Holiday's person.

Absolutely spellbinding........1998-06-27

Clarke did a wonderful job in fulfilling the task of exposing Billie to those who thought they knew her. In my first impressions of the book, I found it to be similar to a text book rather than a novel. A storyteller by nature, I was somewhat thrown by the books' seesaw approach from novel to reference book. However, once I adapted to books' style, I could not put the it down. I found Clarke's uncannily ability to present the facts (as I have never seen them presented in any Holiday book)spellbinding. The interpretation of reasearch was quite impressive. I recommend any "true" Holiday fan to read this book. I found it enlightening and enjoyable.

Average customer rating:

Billie

Billie Holiday: Wishing on the Moon
Donald Clarke
Manufacturer: Da Capo Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

African-American & Black | Ethnic & National | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

General | Ethnic & National | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

General | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

Women | Specific Groups | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

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General | Music | Entertainment | Subjects | Books

ASIN: 0306811367
Release Date: 2002-06-18

Book Description

Based on unrivaled access to archival interviews with those who knew her at every stage of her life, the most revealing biography of the incomparable Lady Day.

Certainly no singer has been more mythologized and more misunderstood than Billie Holiday, who helped to create much of the mystique herself with her autobiography, Lady Sings the Blues. "Now, finally, we have a definitive biography," said Booklist of Donald Clarke's Billie Holiday, "by a deeply compassionate, respectful, and open-minded biographer [whose] portrait embraces every facet of Holiday's paradoxical nature, from her fierceness to her vulnerability, her childlikeness to her innate elegance and amazing strength." Clarke was given unrivaled access to a treasure trove of interviews from the 1970's--interviews with those who knew Lady Day from her childhood in the streets and good-time houses of Baltimore through the early days of success in New York and into the years of fame, right up to her tragic decline and death at the age of forty-four. Clarke uses these interviews to separate fact from fiction and, in the words of the Seattle Times, "finally sets us straight...evoking her world in all its anguish, triumph, force and irony." Newsday called this "a thoroughly riveting account of Holiday and her milieu." The New York Times raved that it "may be the most thoroughly valuable of the many books on Holiday," and Helen Oakley Dance in JazzTimes said, "We should probably have to wait a long time for another life of Billie Holiday to supersede Donald Clarke's achievement."

Customer Reviews:

Billie.......2006-08-18

This was the best Bio I have read on Billie. Previous Bios never were clear on how many times she was married. Actually she was only married twice. There was also quite a bit of detail on her growing up in Baltimore. I always thought that Billie was from the Pennsylvania Ave. section of West Baltimore. But she actually grew up near Fells Point. LATER she moved near to the Royale Theatre in West Baltimore. Also there is clarification of the relationship between her Mother and Father.
HOWEVER there was too much description of her later drug use. (If you have read one Junkies life (as in John Belushi) you don't need to read about the drug use in another Junkie.) BUT there was also clarification that her addiction didn't start because of a white Band Member (which was shown in the movie).
Of the 4 books that I have read on Billie this was the best.

Average customer rating:

Wishing on the Moon :Billie Holiday
Donald Clarke
Manufacturer: Penguin (Non-Classics)
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OIXFY6

Wishing on the Moon: The Life and Times of Billie Holiday

Average customer rating:

Wishing on the Moon: The Life and Times of Billie Holiday
Billie] Clarke, Donald [Holiday
Manufacturer: Viking
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000KVHI8G

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